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Welcome back for part 2 of our 2016-17 basketball season predictions. In this portion, we run through our picks for the All-Big 12 First Team, Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Coach of the Year, and a GIF to sum up Iowa State’s season.
Enjoy, and don’t forget to leave your own predictions in the comments!
First Team All-Big 12
Kevin Fitzpatrick
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Frank Mason III | G | Kansas
Jordan Woodard | G | Oklahoma
Jawun Evans | G | Oklahoma State
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
CYHusker
Monte Morris | G | ISU
Frank Mason III | G | KU
Jawun Evans | G | OK State
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
Jarrett Allen | F | Texas
AMar32
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Matt Thomas | G | Iowa State
Josh Jackson | G/F | Kansas
Jawun Evans | G | Oklahoma State
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
graphikdeCYner
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Frank Mason III | G | Kansas
Jawun Evans | G | OSU
Daxter Miles Jr. | G | WVU
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
HashtagChris
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Jawun Evans | G | Oklahoma State
Frank Mason III | G | Kansas
Jordan Woodward | G | Oklahoma
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
52 Trap
Frank Mason III | G | Kansas
Monte Morris | G | ISU
Devonte Graham | G | Kansas
Jarrett Allen | F | Texas
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
Ian Rewoldt
Phil Forte III | G | OSU
Monte Morris | G | ISU
Devonte Graham | G | Kansas
Josh Jackson | G/F | Kansas
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
RevDizz
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Josh Jackson | G/F | Kansas
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
Frank Mason III | G | Kansas
Jawun Evans | G | Oklahoma State
Matthias Schwartzkopf
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Jarrett Allen | F | Texas
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
Frank Mason III | G | Kansas
Jawun Evans | G | Oklahoma State
Kody Pedersen
Monte Morris | G | ISU
Devonte Graham | G | KU
Jawun Evans | G | OK State
Josh Jackson | G/F | KU
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
jwillyISU
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Josh Jackson | G/F | Kansas
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
Devonte Graham | G | Kansas
Jordan Woodard | G | Oklahoma
Cy’s Pecker
Monte Morris | G | Iowa State
Frank Mason III | G | Kansas
Landen Lucas | F | Kansas
Jawun Evans | G | Oklahoma State
Johnathan Motley | F | Baylor
Big 12 Player of the Year
Kevin Fitzpatrick
Monte Morris. I feel like a homer picking him, but Morris is one of just a few "elite" players in the Big 12 this year. I think this will be a Melvin Ejim-esque Big 12 POTY selection as it's also celebrating a fantastic four-year collegiate career, rather than one outstanding season.
CYHusker
Monte Morris. This is an easy pick, and I don't think it's relatively close. Morris, the only unanimous pick to the Big 12 First Team and preseason Big 12 POTY, is quite possibly the biggest returning star in a conference decimated by attrition. Morris sets all kinds of ISU records and has a dominant senior season.
AMar32
Monte Morris. I think Morris will have a Niang-esque senior season. He'll average 20-22 points per game and nearly 8 assists per game, leading the Big 12 in both categories.
graphikdeCYner
Monte. Frickin'. Morris. With a tenured resume loaded not only with amazing stats but 3 seasons worth of slights, Monte finally gets his. And breaks his own A:T ratio in the process.
HashtagChris
Monte Morris: Maybe I'm too close to it, but I think Morris is the easy pick here.
52 Trap
Johnathan Motley. His play in the middle will stand out in a guard oriented conference and he will lead Baylor to challenge Kansas for the league title. Graham or Mason will be a close second and Morris will miss out due to a lack of wins, which won't be his fault.
Ian Rewoldt
Monte Morris. His standard is just so much higher than anyone returning in the conference and as a senior he will straight mess with people on his way to dominant offensive nights that no one can match.
RevDizz
Jawun Evans. Evans was one of the most productive guards when he was healthy as a freshman last year. I expect that to continue under new coach, Brad Underwood. Evans has a little bit of Jok potential, in that he can get all the stats he wants because the rest of the team just isn't that great. I think The KU trio of Jackson, Mason and Graham split the KU stats and Morris doesn't score as much as is expected (even though he scores plenty) and ISU fans are livid.
Matthias Schwartzkopf
Monte Morris. With Niang gone the offense will look to it's new focus in Morris. He is bigger, faster and stronger this year and will look to score more while getting his team involved like usual. Look for all his stats to be up this season especially scoring en route to a unanimous selection as Big 12 player of the year.
Kody Pedersen
Josh Jackson. Obviously, I'd prefer Monte Morris as the pick here, but his preseason selection as the player of the year felt more honorary than predictive. If you haven't heard of Jackson, he's the highest-ranked recruit in one of the most hyped freshman classes in college basketball history. Of course, we hear about these guys every season only to see many of them struggle adjusting to the college game. But based on Self's comments, expect Jackson to be more Andrew Wiggins than Cheick Diallo.
jwillyISU
Josh Jackson. His body and game is the equivalent to that of Andrew Wiggins - he is the most athletic player in the conference and goes on to be the #1 pick in the NBA draft.
Cy’s Pecker
Monte Morris. Morris, proving that he belongs in the NBA, will have a lights out year and coast to the Big 12 Player of the Year award.
Big 12 Newcomer of the Year
Kevin Fitzpatrick
Josh Jackson. Just one in a long line of talented freshman to come in and tear it up for the Jayhawks.
CYHusker
Jarrett Allen. This pick is somewhat surprising, I know; I'm just not that high on Josh Jackson and the KU roster this year... Allen is a top 15 player coming out of high school, and is sure to be a focal point of what Texas does this season.
AMar32
Josh Jackson. The only way to get this one wrong is to overthink it.
graphikdeCYner
Jarrett Allen. Based on nothing more than he's a newcomer and has THE BEST official team headshot. I mean just look at that guy! He's so happy to be here!
HashtagChris
Josh Jackson: I really wanted to pick Jarrett Allen of Texas here, but I'm not going to pick against the No. 2 recruit in the country.
52 Trap
Jarrett Allen. If he gets his jump hook working and can extend to 15 ft. consistently, then he will be a force no one in this league can stop. I have a feeling Coach Smart will have him playing aggressively and it will yield dividends for their team.
Ian Rewoldt
Josh Jackson. He will prove to everyone why he is a top five pick in the NBA draft. He'll play like Andrew Wiggins did, but with more team playmaking ability and less bad shots.
RevDizz
Josh Jackson. This kid is really freaking good. Like Wiggins with a killer instinct good.
Matthias Schwartzkopf
Jarrett Allen. The 5-star recruit is going to have a big year under coach Smart.
Kody Pedersen
Manu Lecomte. I'm going to be honest. I've never heard of Manu Lecomte, but a quick Google search reveals he's a sharpshooter transfer from Miami (FL). Lecomte shot 45.6 percent from behind the arc two seasons ago and will get plenty of minutes for a Baylor team that lost an offensive threat in Lester Medford. That's good enough for me.
jwillyISU
Josh Jackson. He’s also my pick for POTY, so this makes sense.
Cy’s Pecker
Dwight Coleby. Who? This Kansas big man will earn the WTF of the Year award as well. While Kansas has two very talented freshman in Mitch Lightfoot and Udoka Azubuike, I believe Self has Dwight Coleby hidden and he will play a critical role in the Jayhawks success this season.
Big 12 Coach of the Year
Kevin Fitzpatrick
Shaka Smart. With a year under his belt, we'll start to see the true impact Smart is going to have on Texas basketball.
CYHusker
Shaka Smart. Not only is this the easy choice; it's the smart one.
AMar32
Chris Beard. I think Texas Tech returns a solid roster and Beard is a Texas Tech guy, which is a really strange kind of guy to be. Tech surprises people and finishes in the top half of the league.
graphikdeCYner
Shaka Smart. Smart has been building a great program at Texas at a blistering pace and it finally pays big dividends. Bonus gif:
HashtagChris
Shaka Smart. Shaka Smart wins the Big 12 COTY award. Shocker. No one ever saw this coming. Eye roll.
52 Trap
Scott Drew. Baylor gives Kansas a scare for the league title and the coach pulls in the award.
Ian Rewoldt
Bill Self. Kansas will be so in control that no one will ever doubt their run to another conference crown. They blow everyone away in the standings and Self wins easily.
RevDizz
Bill Self. I think the rest of the conference beats up on each other enough and winning the conference by 3 games is worthy enough of a coach of the year award.
Matthias Schwartzkopf
Shaka Smart. Texas will be majorly improved this season under coach Smart and will be atop the big 12 standings for most of the season.
Kody Pedersen
Shaka Smart. Other than the Havoc press, Smart's teams are most known for being greater than the sum of their parts. Add elite recruiting to the mix, and you have the current state of Texas basketball: a proven system with real talent. It's still young talent, so I expect some early struggles, but they should be rolling by February.
jwillyISU
Jamie Dixon. First off I have a man crush on Dixon, and thought he was fantastic at Pitt. His team will make games close with their gritty style and hard-pressed defense, and will only be a matter of time before he gets the talent.
Cy’s Pecker
Shaka Smart. Smart has brought the Longhorns a long way in just his first year of coaching in Austin, considering where they were as Barnes was on his way out. Despite coming into a new situation with a group of underachievers, Barnes was able to improve the team with 4 more wins in the Big 12 than the year before his arrival.
Iowa State’s Season in a GIF
Kevin Fitzpatrick
CYHusker
AMar32
graphikdeCYner
HashtagChris
RevDizz
Matthias Schwartzkopf
Kody Pedersen
jwillyISU
That rounds out our basketball predictions for this year. Like part 1, leave your own thoughts in the comments and be sure to tell us why we’re wrong!